Optical link management is a critical component of network servicing and maintenance. In order for an optical link manager to be able to effectively establish and maintain optical links on network elements, the optical network topology must be known to the optical network manager. Optical links, and services provisioned thereon, may be provided once the network topology is known. In optical networks such as metropolitan and access optical networks, congestion in an optical channel may develop between two or more network elements or nodes. To alleviate the congestion, secondary or alternate optical links may be provisioned. However, to provide an optimal secondary or alternate optical links that results in the most efficient allocation of network resources, the optical network topology should be known to the one or more nodes of the network involved in provisioning of the optical link. For example, if a node involved in a optical link allocation could obtain information relating to adjacent nodes, optical links could accordingly be provisioned therewith. Mechanisms could then be implemented to allocate optical links based on the most optimal network topology that results from the various optical link configurations.